India plans Mars mission on an $85-million budget
04 Aug 2012
Indian scientists expect to send a mission to Mars on a measly $85 million budget next year against the $2.5 billion NASA mission that is expected to land a Mars Science Laboratory vehicle on the Red Planet at 1:31 an (EDT) on Monday.
A cabinet meeting late Friday approved the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) planned launch of the `Mars Orbiter' in November next year, media reports said, adding that the `Mars Orbiter' will study the red planet's atmosphere.
The mission will push India into a small group of countries already exploring the red planet, reports quoting a scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation said on Friday.
The rocket carrying the satellite will lift off from Sriharikotta in the southeastern coast of India launching the satellite into deep space, which will then travel onto Mars to achieve orbit, reports quoting an unnamed senior scientist said.
India will be the sixth country to launch a mission to Mars after the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and China.
India, which kicked off its space program in 1963 and has developed its own satellites and launch vehicles to reduce dependence on overseas agencies, plans to launch its maiden manned space flight later in the decade.
India's space programme has been lagging since its September 2009, India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe discovered water on the moon.
But the space program suffered a setback in December 2010 when a satellite launch vehicle blew up and fell into the Bay of Bengal after veering from its intended flight path.
